I've been reading Reuters' extensive
coverage of the Caucasus and Former Soviet Union area for several
years now, paying especially close attention to news about the
Azerbaijan Republic and the surrounding region.

Unfortunately, Reuters, like
various other news wire services, continues to rely on old, outdated,
recycled and false clichés in its reports. One such example
is the tendency to include a line in your reporting about the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that reads: "Christian Armenia
is engaged in a war with Muslim Azerbaijan."

This does not correspond to
the true origins of this war at all. First of all, Azerbaijan
has NO official state religion; therefore, all religions are
protected equally by law (Azerbaijan Constitution ratified November
1995). Second, there is an increasing number of Christians among
ethnic Azerbaijanis. Third, there are other religions well established
in Azerbaijan including the Jews. There are atheists, also. But
more importantly, religion is not a factor and essentially has
NOTHING to do with this war.

Armenia began its well-planned
and calculated aggression against Azerbaijan back in 1988. Its
goal was clearly the acquisition of land, which proved to be
successful as Armenia now occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijan's
territory. In the process, more that 1 million Azerbaijani civilians
have been displaced and have been living as refugees for the
past four years or more.

So where does religion enter
the picture? And what is the intent behind the very condensed
releases that Reuters disseminates where each word counts and
should be carefully weighted? There is absolutely no reason to
include such unhelpful information about religion when describing
this war. It is entirely irrelevant to the situation and , furthermore,
distorts and hinders the peace process as it confuses and sidetracks
the main issues of conflict-sheer aggression on the part of Armenians
against Azerbaijan.

By the way, according to Human
Rights Watch/Helsinki and various other publications, the number
of people who have died because of Armenian aggression in the
Karabakh region is 25,000 and rising.

It seems like ages since we
said good-bye to Baku. We are just now beginning to feel a bit
settled in Bonn on our new assignment. When we left Baku last
December, we decided to drive back to Germany as we needed to
say a slow good-bye to the life in which we had been so intensely
immersed during the past two years. To fly from one world to
the other in a matter of five hours seemed somehow too abrupt.

So we set off on an unforgettable
journey of 5,735 kilometers that lasted 16 days. Our route took
us through Georgia (Tbilisi), Turkey (Trabzon, Samsun, Ankara
and Istanbul), Bulgaria (Sophia), Romania (Bucharest and Sibiu),
Hungary (Budapest), Austria and finally into Germany. We crossed
the Danube River several times, and felt as if we had come full
circle when we reached Passau, the city through which so many
Germans traveled on their way to Azerbaijan in 1819.

Our Land Rover became the first
Azerbaijani auto in Bonn. Its bright red diplomatic license plate
and its dark gray color bearing the dust of many countries attracted
bewildered stares.

So far, we have spent most of
our time unpacking, but at least we are now surrounded by Azerbaijani
paintings, carpets, music and literature (not to mention Azerbaijan
International magazine!)-all poignant reminders of a rich and
rewarding two years.

We miss our life in Baku-our
friends, as well as the sense that what we were doing made a
difference. Luckily, the German newspapers have recently featured
several articles about Azerbaijan, and we've also discovered
two new books, as well. We don't want to ever lose touch with
what is happening there, so please continue to send us your magazine.

Maryann Schmunk
(wife of Michael Schmunk, former German Ambassador to Azerbaijan)
Bonn, Germany

Baku's Metro and Tourism

One of my hobbies is "collecting
metros." I've managed to ride on 100 of the 114 metro systems
that I've identified throughout the world. Recently, I visited
Baku for the first time, primarily to ride the metro system.
Though there was chaos at the airport around the passport control,
the confusion melted into insignificance when the control officer
smiled and said, "Welcome to Azerbaijan!" Then, the
lady at the airline counter responded with a smile to my question
about how to take a bus into town (easily, via the #16). Outside,
I pushed past the taxi hustlers who were not too happy when they
realized I intended to take public transportation. But I found
my way, despite some confusion on several occasions, and succeeded
in reaching the Hotel Absheron which provided a spectacular view
of the Caspian from my 11th floor room. Later, I strolled around
Baku, visited the old "Inner City" and the Maiden's
Tower, and climbed up alongside the funicular tracks to where
a statue of Kirov used to stand at one of the highest points
in the city.

The U.S. Embassy warns foreigners
not to ride the Baku Metro (because of a fire catastrophe blamed
on faulty wiring which cost the lives of at least 300 people
in October 1995, as well as two earlier bombing incidents credited
to terrorists). But Im glad I ignored the warning. True, I was
stopped and searched while entering the metro, but felt the police
were justified in questioning a "different-looking foreigner,"
just as they would hve been anywhere else in the world under
such circumstances. Unlike Russia, though, there was no implied
bribe request. The police were consistently polite to me, in
spite of linguistic constraints.

All this is simply to say that
I was impressed with the overall friendliness of everyone I encountered
in Baku, from the shopkeepers and personnel in restaurants to
the folks on the street who all seemed relaxed and easy-going.
I look forward to going back! If my experience is any indication,
there is definitely a solid tourism industry to be developed
in Azerbaijan.

P.S. By the way, this is the
229th country that I have visited.

Alan K. Hogenauer
Oakdale, New York

Alphabet Changes

I am a librarian at the University
of Chicago where we have a collection of books in Azeri. The
majority are in Cyrillic, but there are about 20 in the Arabic
script, including, "Greetings to Heydar Baba" by Shahriar,
"A History of Azerbaijani Literature" by Dr. Javad
Hayat, "Mirza Mahammad Akhundzade" by Bahram Cyrus,
"A Report on the National Movement of Azerbaijan" by
Dr. S. Javid and "Khagani Shirvani" by Bahram Amiramadi.
In the past, our bibliographic records have been transliterated
via Persian, but we wanted to make sure that it is done correctly
via Azeri. Finally, we got the bright idea of trying the Web
for some help, and that's when we discovered your magazine. One
of your earlier issues (AI 1.3, September 1993) deals with the
transition of the alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin. Can you direct
me to a chart of the entire alphabet in Arabic, Cyrillic and
the official Latin script? Thanks for your help.

David Bade, Bibliographer
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Editor: A full chart comparing
the four scripts (Arabic, Latin, Cyrillic and a modified Latin)
which were officially adopted by Azerbaijan during the course
of this century is available in this issue. See our article on
the alphabet.

Minimizing the Risks

It's good to feel the support
of Azerbaijan International magazine while living abroad. Whenever
I see someone who is really interested in Azerbaijan, such as
a professor here at Georgia State going on assignment to Khazar
University in Baku, I give them some preliminary information
about Azerbaijan and tell them, "Go and check out <azer.com>
on the Internet." Many come back to thank me for directing
them to Azerbaijan International's Web site. In return, let me
thank you for establishing such a super resource.

In response to your issue about
youth (AI 4.4, Winter 1996), I also believe in the prosperity
of Azerbaijan. But as a young person, the unpredictability of
our situation concerns me very much. It often reminds me of what
happened to our super heavyweight boxer, Adaliat Mammadov, at
the summer Olympics in Atlanta last year. Everything was going
so well-fantastic, in fact. He had won his first two fights,
and I was the proudest person at the boxing venue. The third
fight was going even better, and then suddenly-"Bang!"
The other guy played dirty and hit Adaliat below the belt. The
referee didn't catch it, though many of us saw it and even captured
it on film. No man is able to fight well after such a punch.
Consequently, Adaliat lost his chance for the Gold. Thinking
about Adaliat's loss reminds me that something similarly unpredictable
could happen to our country. I just want to say that we still
have a lot of work to do before we can feel secure about the
future of our nation.

In the meantime, I'm trying
to finish up my graduate program here quickly, so I can get back
to Azerbaijan. So much is going on there now-I don't want to
"miss the boat!" I felt this keenly on my last visit
to Baku in the fall of 1996. Somehow, being involved there, you
feel that you're a part of history in the making, contributing
to the common success of all. It makes me want to return home
as soon as I can.

Zaur Nazaly
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia

Editor: Azerbaijan International's
Web site includes the accumulation of five years of our publication.
It is the largest site in the world related to Azerbaijan, with
more than 300 articles, 1,000 photos and 15 sound samples. Check
out <http://azer.com>.

Reinvigorated

I am an Azerbaijani temporarily
working at a Turkish university as a visiting instructor.

No journal has ever thrilled
me as much as Azerbaijan International. It's no exaggeration
that after having read it, my dreams and aspirations which were
sapped by the Karabakh crisis are coming back to me. I'm beginning
to feel the joy, again, that I have been missing for ages. Your
journal (or rather, "our" journal) is realizing what
I have been dreaming of all my life: to promote my republic to
the world, to make the dear names of composers such as Fikrat
Amirov and Uzeyir Hajibeyov, along with their music, known to
everyone.

Your journal reminded me of
the fascinating world that once existed-where nationalities and
religions coexisted peacefully. It was a small Azerbaijani world
with warmth and colors, where patience and tolerance formed the
basis for every thought and action.

Things have changed dramatically
since those "good old days." The Karabakh conflict,
which is always on my mind, does not let me enjoy my life. I
feel very guilty being away from Baku in these difficult times.
I do wish I were teaching at my native Institute of Foreign Languages
where I had been working since my graduation, but the force of
circumstances is something beyond my power.

Here in Turkey, far from Azerbaijan,
I love and appreciate my homeland more than ever. I'm delighted
to hear foreigners call us "the most highly educated and
most culturally rich population" and "caring and sharing"
people (AI 4.4, Winter 1996, pages 25 and 87).

But I would also like to hear
about our faults and drawbacks, not only about our merits. And
I'd like to get to know friends of Azerbaijan, no matter what
their nationality. That's what we desperately need today-real
friends-people, who by their actions and words, are managing
to change the attitudes of people towards my republic.

There is really nothing like
spreading the word, spreading it lovingly and intelligently.
Thank you very much for this unusual journal. Thank you for lifting
our hearts. I do not know whose brainchild this journal is, but
God bless everyone who has contributed to its birth and growth,
its charm and greatness.

P. S. I would also like to thank
Lori Nichol, the choreographer for the 1996 world champion ice
skater Michelle Kwan, who skated this season to music by Fikrat
Amirov (AI 4.4, Winter 1996). Ms. Nichol was concerned that she
might have offended some Azerbaijanis because she developed the
choreography for Kwan's routine based on a story line about the
Indian architectural monument, Taj Mahal.

Quite the contrary, no Azerbaijani
can be offended. We are grateful to her for having discovered
our music. Who knows? Maybe one of the architects or craftsmen
who participated in the construction of the Taj Mahal was, indeed,
Amirov's forefather. After all, we Azerbaijanis came to the Caucasus
from Central Asia. No doubt, it was the spirit of Amirov's ancestors
that enabled him to create music as exotic and arresting as the
Taj Mahal itself. Thanks to Ms. Nichol for having such a sensitive
ear to have imagined such a correlation between the architecture
and the music. We applaud her.